Barbara Armitage was born in Sydney and was educated at Bondi Public School and Dover Heights Girls' High School. She worked for the NSW Council of Social Services, as a Judge's Associate and as a Project Officer to the Minister's Advisory Service on Family and Children's Services.
Barbara joined the ALP in 1973 and has held numerous positions at branch and electorate level.

In 2005 Barbara Armitage won the Local Government Outstanding Service Award. She was Mayor of Waverley for 10 years, the longest term served by a Mayor of Waverley in 150 years. Elected Mayor in 1987 with a policy to resist high-rise development on Bondi Beach, she implemented a Heritage Conservation plan. She also encouraged cultural events centred on Bondi, including the Festival of the Winds, Flickerfest and the Fringe Festival. She was Chairperson of the Sydney Coastal Councils.

She was appointed to the Local Government Grants Commission, becoming Chairman in 1999. Barbara Armitage was a member of the Premier's Crime Prevention Council and is an accredited mediator with the Community Justice Centre.

Sources used to compile this entry: NSW Local Government Grants Commission: Initial Submission in response to the Commonwealth Grants Commission's Discussion Paper CGC 2000/1; What's Happening in Waverley: Media Releases from the Mayor's Office. 23 August 2000; http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/search/query.asp (accessed 30 March 2005); Labor Times 1995 Election issue.